Eating Chinese Food Naked : A Novel

Rating:
Summary: all over the place
Review:
This is definitely not a plot-driven novel - one in which the storyline keeps the reader turning the pages. It's more of a character novel of Ruby Lee, a second-generation Chinese-American torn between her old-world family customs and her new Gen-X environment. Author Mei Ng offers an acute insight into this Chinese-American culture as Ruby struggles through her dealings with her own family's dysfunction, with her relationships with American men and with her grappling with her own sexual identity.

Some have felt that Mei Ng's writing was a bit contrived and somewhat flat. I can only state that I did not find that to be the case. In fact, I thought that her writing was the book's redeeming attribute. I liked her narrative prose and the way she poignantly described Ruby's relationship with her family and her friends. I had a feeling that Mei Ng intertwined a lot of her own persona into Ruby's character. And that is what made the novel alive and believable. Overall, I would have to give Eating Chinese Food Naked my thumbs up.

Rating:
Summary: Touching, beautifully written moment in time
Review: I passed over this book several times because of the title, which, to me, conjures up images of "the adventures of a wacky modern girl who is totally embarrassed by her old-school immigrant parents" -- there's a whole genre of books like this.

I'm glad I got past the title and read this book, because it's a wonderful, nuanced look at a few months in the life of this troubled family. Ruby is just out of Columbia, and moves back in with her lonely, estranged parents. We see her protectiveness towards her mother, trying to reach her father, her standoffishness towards the boyfriend that she can't stay faithful to.

This is a novel of characters rather than plot, and the characters are finely tuned and complex. Ruby resists the role that her boyfriend wants her in; her mother Bell has a quiet strength in her loveless marriage; her father Franklin is trapped by his memories.

There is a strong current of sorrow running through this book, because there is no neat resolution to the family's problems. But that is a tribute to the story's artistry: there is no manipulation, no shameless drama or heartstring-pulling, just a story, told simply and eloquently. I found myself wishing the characters were real, and then wishing them well at the book's end.

Rating:
Summary: Touching, beautifully written moment in time
Review: I passed over this book several times because of the title, which, to me, conjures up images of "the adventures of a wacky modern girl who is totally embarrassed by her old-school immigrant parents" -- there's a whole genre of books like this.

I'm glad I got past the title and read this book, because it's a wonderful, nuanced look at a few months in the life of this troubled family. Ruby is just out of Columbia, and moves back in with her lonely, estranged parents. We see her protectiveness towards her mother, trying to reach her father, her standoffishness towards the boyfriend that she can't stay faithful to.

This is a novel of characters rather than plot, and the characters are finely tuned and complex. Ruby resists the role that her boyfriend wants her in; her mother Bell has a quiet strength in her loveless marriage; her father Franklin is trapped by his memories.

There is a strong current of sorrow running through this book, because there is no neat resolution to the family's problems. But that is a tribute to the story's artistry: there is no manipulation, no shameless drama or heartstring-pulling, just a story, told simply and eloquently. I found myself wishing the characters were real, and then wishing them well at the book's end.

Rating:
Summary: zzzzzzzzzzzzz
Review: I was very disappointed in this novel. Granted, the author is talented but, I could not get into this book. I did finish it but it took me a weeks. Nothing in this book made me want to pick it up once it was put down. I struggled to get through it. The chacters were lifeless and uninteresting. I did feel sorry for Ruby's father Franklin. These characters had such an opportunity to discover why they didn't get along but nothing was resolved. Ruby remained selfish and Bell a doormat.

Rating:
Summary: A chore to read
Review: I'm not particularly picky when it comes to books. I'll excuse flaws after flaws if something about the book catches me. This book, however, was such a chore to read. Ng's grammatical errors were obvious and frustrating. Sentence structures were poor, unimaginative and many times defensive even at times when it need not be.
But her biggest flaw were her storytelling paths. They were unfocused, many times uninteresting, lacking grasp and shaky. I found myself trying to help her re-write her book. It simply became tiring.
While I'm not against the use of profanity, I felt Ng's excessive use of it left me with the impression that the author was a poseur trying too hard to reiterate Ruby's angst.

Rating:
Summary: all over the place
Review: Mei Ng tries too many things in this book. While I give her credit for trying, I feel that there were just too many flaws in this book for me to give it a higher recommendation. First, on a technical level, I don't know why she decided to use third-person multiple points of view. This is one of the trickiest kinds of narrative to do successfully because it often feels choppy and unfocussed. Such was the case here. In many chapters, Ng changes point of view in every single paragraph -- sometimes mid-paragraph. She could just as easily (and more effectively, I think) have done longer sections in a single character's point of view, switching only between these longer sections (or, simply done the whole thing in Ruby's POV). Also there were chapters where she started in present tense, for no particular reason, and then switched back to past tense. This can be done effectively, but I felt like here it was simply a mistake; it came across as sloppy rather than stylistic.

OK, enough of my boring discussion of technical stuff. As far as the storytelling, here too the novel comes across as unfocussed. Ng can't seem to fix on one aspect of the story long enough to do it justice. We get a few fascinating insights into the lives of Franklin and Bell, but then we'll veer into yet another long, boring section about how aimless Ruby feels and how she just can't bring herself to go into the city. Ng teases us here and there with hints of Ruby's bisexuality, but never goes anywhere with this either (the scene near the ending at the party is a particular letdown, almost as though Ng and not Ruby is the one who "chickens out").

Moreover, Ruby comes across as grotesquely shallow at times in ways that I'm not entirely sure were intentional (the way she weighs the "pros" and "cons" of her boyfriend, for example) because they made me completely lose sympathy for or interest in her. Some of the side characters, particularly Ruby's brother and sister, remain so underdeveloped (though with plenty of potential that could have been developed) that I wonder if Ng didn't put them in there to pad the story a bit, lest the reader get tired of Ruby's uneventful life.

Overall, disappointing -- and in a large part because it does have good potential, with some solid characterizations, details and scenes. I had a hard time getting through it and didn't come away with much of anything once I did get through it.

Rating:
Summary: Ok first novel
Review: Mei Ng's writing is nothing new or great, does not bring tears like Amy Tan does. But you will like this book, like I did, if you can identify with the lead protoganist. And she is very relatable. Especially if you have Asian roots or if you are protective of your mother, commitment-phobic, in your early 20s going through life's confusion trying to find yourself.

Like other reviewers have pointed out, the whole life-of-a-second generation-Asian-American is a cliche genre, (but so is American chicklit)- there is still so much difference between the cultures and between generations that every new book still seems interesting.

This book is refreshing if you are tired of reading "chicklit" set in Manhattan or London where the heroine has a glamourous job that in reality would not even pay for her shoes, let alone an apartment and night life in Manhattan and she would land a perfect guy by the last chapter.

This book is more realistic in that in deals with a Ivy Leaguer chick who, drawn by her love for her mother, moves back to her parents' basement - initially telling herself it is just for the summer. But when she just spends time at Dunkin Donuts, not really searching for a job, she realizes she is emotionally dependent/attached to her mother and she cannot get on with her life until she moves out. She then resolves to take up Temp jobs and save money for her own apartment. By the end of the book, she has gotten over her need to "save" her mother without breaking away emotionally from her. She has a better understanding of herself and her family.

Ruby's fear of commitment to her boyfriend is very realistic for a 20 something - she loves him but doesn't romanticize it with a "forever perfect soulmate" feeling. Her feeling of entrapment and fear of the "white picket fence" is very relatable as is her intrigue with finding a girl to kiss. Her sexuality is made matter-of-fact and is only used to describe her confusions, it is not employed as a cheap thrill/plot device.

I also liked the running metaphor of food for emotional communication in the family...it is very true of Asian families.

Because of the realism, there is also an underlying thread of melancholy in the book, it is not all perky fun and romp.

Not everything is entirely realistic though...Ruby's very frank questions to her mother about her love life is a little too much.
Also it is a bit redundant at times...especially the family history and Van and Lily's past, could have been trimmed. The story is a little jumpy at times and tends to meander but that is probably because novels in this genre place a huge importance on characterization than on plot.

Rating:
Summary: The Life of an Asian American College graduate
Review: Mei Ng, the author of "Eating Chinese Food Naked", her first novel, shows us her great skills as a writer. Mei captures her readers' attention through her portrayal of a young Chinese-American woman and her struggles to understand her complex relationships with her mother and her boyfriend, who she deeply loves, but cannot be faithful and committed to.The main character, Ruby Lee, regretfully finds herself back home at her parent's apartment in Queens after graduating from college. Ruby becomes restless and impatient while living with her parents and working a temporary job as a secretary. Each day at her parents' apartment behind Lee's Hand Laundry, forces her to question her protective love for her resilient mother and her own open
sexuality. Ruby often runs from her uncertainties by wandering from cafe to clubs to search for her "one-night-stands".

Ruby finally understands herself and the reality in which she deals with through her daily struggles in her assorted relationships. Eating Chinese Food Naked is a novel about how a contemporary Asian-American woman who finally found her true self and is satisfied with it. This book was great and recommended to read, Eating Chinese Food Naked, explains a lot about family life and how the Chinese Traditions can have a great affect on a young person's life, like Ruby. Although Mei have explained and showed well about Ruby's life and her struggle to find her true self, the relationship Ruby had with her boyfriend may have ruined the suspense a little on Ruby's journey to find herself.

Rating:
Summary: Story of Family Life and Love
Review: This book was on my wish list and when I finished the book I'd brought home with me I thought it was time to start checking a few books off that list, so I checked it out of the library. It was wonderful. It tells the story of Ruby Lee, a Chinese-American girl who moves back in with her parents in Queens after graduating from college in order to save up enough money to get her own place. Ruby struggles with her parents' loveless marriage and trying to "save" her mother from what she sees as an impossible situation, while at the same time trying to deal with a boyfriend she doesn't love, and finding the motivation to go to work each day.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: This is definitely not a plot-driven novel - one in which the storyline keeps the reader turning the pages. It's more of a character novel of Ruby Lee, a second-generation Chinese-American torn between her old-world family customs and her new Generation-X environment. Author Mei Ng offers an acute insight into this Chinese-American culture as Ruby struggles through her dealings with her own family's dysfunction, with her relationships with American men and with her grappling with her own sexual identity.

Some have felt that Mei Ng's writing was a bit contrived and somewhat flat. I can only state that I did not find that to be the case. In fact, I thought that her writing was the book's redeeming attribute. I liked her narrative prose and the way she poignantly described Ruby's relationship with her family and her friends. I had a feeling that Mei Ng intertwined a lot of her own persona into Ruby's character - and that is what made the novel alive and believable. Overall, I would have to give Eating Chinese Food Naked a thumbs up.